Short Term Advance Program

Short Term Advance Basics

Are you short of funds to buy textbooks? Do you need emergency funds because of unanticipated living expenses? Apply for the Short Term Advance online.

The Short Term Advance is a University monetary advance available to assist degree-seeking students enrolled at least half-time with:

  • Purchasing textbooks
  • Emergency funds relating to educational expenses
  • Unanticipated living expenses

Keep in mind that the Short Term Advance is NOT a source of funding to assist with paying your tuition and other related fees at FAU or transient student enrollment at another college/university. Students may borrow up to $750.00. In addition, a $5.00 non-refundable processing fee will be assessed.

Make sure to enter your correct Z number and your correct FAU NetID on the application. Funds will be direct deposited in student's bank account within 2-3 BUSINESS DAYS after it has been processed/approved. View Direct Deposit Online Instructions for details.

When is the Short Term Advance Available?

The Spring 2026 Short Term Advance application will be available online via MYFAU (Money Matters tile) on December 1, 2025.

The Spring 2026 Short Term Advance application will be available through April 8, 2026.

NOTE: College of Medicine students will need to contact the Associate Director of Financial Aid in the College of Medicine (Ellen Gomes: gomese@health.fau.edu).

When will the Short Term Advance Process & Disburse?

The first disbursement of the Short Term Advance will occur at least three (3) BUSINESS days before the start of each semester (if the student meets all eligibility criteria). Disbursements will run daily (for exact dates, visit our Dates and Deadlines page).

  • If you are a financial aid recipient and meet ALL eligibility requirements, when financial aid disburses (after the drop/add deadline), it is applied toward University debts (i.e. tuition and other related fees).  If after that you have enough aid to cover the Short Term Advance, no payment will be required, otherwise it must be repaid within 45 calendar days after it has disbursed or before the end of the current semester, whichever comes first.
  • If you are NOT a financial aid recipient - all eligibility requirements must be met. The Short Term Advance must be repaid within 45 calendar days after it has disbursed or before the end of the current semester, whichever comes first.

Students must also complete the Direct Deposit online form prior to applying. This form is located on MyFAU under the Money Matters tile. If the student meets ALL eligibility requirements, they will receive the funds before the first day of classes. Funds will be direct deposited into the student’s existing bank account.

In consideration of approval of the application and receipt of funds, the student promises to pay the FAU Cashier's Office the principal sum amount borrowed plus a non-refundable charge of $5.00 on or before FORTY FIVE (45) CALENDAR DAYS from date funds are disbursed, or upon receipt of financial aid funds, or upon cancellation of financial aid funds, or the last day of the semester, whichever comes first.

Eligibility Requirements

Students:

  • must be degree-seeking
  • must be enrolled at least half-time
  • must not have a previous semester balance with FAU
  • must have at least a 2.0 institutional GPA for undergraduate students and a 3.0 institutional GPA for graduate students
  • must be at least 18 years of age

NOTE: If student is under 18 years of age, please download the Parental Short Term Advance Application and submit to the Office of Student Financial Aid. In addition, the student must also set up direct deposit online.

NOTE: If enrolled as an Outgoing Consortium student, please download the Outgoing Consortium Short Term Advance Application and submit to the Office of Student Financial Aid. In addition, the student must also set up direct deposit online.

How to Access Online Application

To access the online Short Term Advance Application (if the application is not active, it will bring you to the top of this page which tells you when it will be available again):

  1. Sign into MyFAU using your FAU credentials.
  2.  Select Money Matters.
  3.  Select Short Term Advance.

What is my Short Term Advance Status?

To determine if your Short Term Advance has been received/approved (remember that the approved date is not filled in until disbursement occurs, so if you are checking before disbursements begin for the term, only the received date will be filled in):

  1.  Sign into MyFAU using your FAU credentials.
  2.  Select FAU Self-Service.
  3.  Select Financial Aid from the Menu Options.
  4.  Select Short Term Advance Status.

Important Notice:

If your financial aid has completely disbursed for the current semester, and you request a Short Term Advance AFTER all aid has paid out, you will need to repay the Short Term Advance funds from your personal funds; otherwise, you will NOT be able to register for future semesters.

If your Short Term Advance was not initially APPROVED, your application will remain ACTIVE until it is disbursed or cancelled by the student. If you would like to CANCEL your Short Term Advance, please submit an offer revision request form to this Office or an email to Tom Falloretta (tfallore@fau.edu) stating this reason at your earliest convenience. Keep in mind that if you DO NOT cancel the short term advance before meeting requirements or your financial aid disburses (for those students who had a previous semester balance), you will have a balance on your student account in the amount of the Short Term Advance that you requested, in addition to the $5.00 processing fee. However, if the funds are disbursed, you may withdraw the funds from your bank account and make a payment at the Cashier’s Office or online via Self-Service for the amount of the Short Term Advance plus processing fee.

The Short Term Advance Program assists students in meeting unanticipated educational expenses (i.e. purchasing textbooks) incurred prior to the date financial aid funds are scheduled to disburse. A student may not have more than one (1) Short Term Advance per semester. Exceptions can be made for extenuating circumstances. Preference will be given to full-time students when funds are limited.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to input your correct Z Number and FAU Net ID; if you enter the wrong Z Number or FAU Net ID, your short term advance request will not load to the system.

Applications will OPEN approximately two (2) weeks prior to the beginning of each semester and will CLOSE after four (4) weeks from the beginning of each semester.

REMINDER: Please remember the time frame when applying for each new semester.

  1. The maximum limit is $750 (a $5.00 processing fee will be assessed).
  2. Student Borrowers must:
    • be degree seeking.
    • be enrolled at least half-time at FAU.
      • FALL & SPRING Terms: 6 or more credits for Undergraduate and 5 or more credits for Graduate students
        • NOTE: The Short Term Advance will NOT disburse until the week before classes begin; for instance, if you are only registered in Fall 2025 [POTS 1,2 or 4] – classes begin date = August 16, 2025, disbursements will begin August 12th.
      • SUMMER Term: 6 or more credits for Undergraduate and 3 or more credits for Graduate students
        • NOTE: If your half-time enrollment is based ONLY on Summer Term 3 registered hours, the Short Term Advance will NOT disburse until June 23, 2026.  If your half-time enrollment is based on a combination of Early Summer 2026 and Summer 2026, the Short Term Advance will disburse May 5th, 2026.  Otherwise, if you are registered in any combination of Summer Terms 1, 2 and 3 for the minimum half-time enrollment required, your advance will disburse May 12th.)
    • have an institutional GPA of at least 2.0 , 3.0 for graduate students (New students are exempt from this criteria)
    • NOT have an outstanding balance with the University. Short term advances cannot be waived if previous A/R balance is from traffic & parking fines, previous short term advances, health fees and/or library fines.
    • have a bank account. Short term advances are disbursed ONLY via direct deposit to the student's bank account. No paper checks will be issued!
    • be 18 years of age or older. IF NOT, please download the Parental Short Term Advance Application located on the Forms to Download section of the FAU Financial Aid website.
  3. Advances will NOT be initiated the last two weeks of classes or between school semesters.
  4. The Short Term Advance online application will only be available for a limited time each semester. Please check the Dates and Deadlines section of the website to view tentative dates. If a Short Term Advance is needed after this date, and the student has not received a Short Term Advance during the current semester, a hardcopy application will be available on the Forms section of the website.
  5. Applications will be review and approved by the Office of Student Financial Aid. Upon approval, the application will be forwarded to the Controller's office for disbursement via direct deposit to the student's bank account on file with the University.
  6. Students may NOT have more than one (1) Short Term Advance per semester.
  7. When funds are limited, preference will be given to full-time students.

Funds will be directly deposited into the student’s bank account; however funds can be direct deposited into your existing financial institution. Student’s must complete and submit a direct deposit authorization form prior to applying, which is located online on MyFAU (click on the "Money Matters" tile). The first Short Term Advance disbursement will process before the first day of classes. If you meet the eligibility requirements, you will receive the proceeds before classes begin.

In consideration of approval of the loan application and receipt of funds, the student promises to pay the FAU Cashier's Office the principal sum amount borrowed plus a non-refundable processing fee of $5.00 on or before FORTY FIVE (45) CALENDAR DAYS from the date funds are disbursed, or upon receipt of financial aid funds, or upon cancellation of financial aid funds, or the last day of the term, whichever comes first.

The student acknowledges and agrees to the following terms:

  1. Failure to repay this loan will prevent student from registering, receiving diploma, receiving grades, or securing an official transcript until such time as the loan is paid in full.
  2. In the event of commencement of suit to enforce payment of this Note, as the Maker of this loan, to pay all costs of such suit including, but not limited to attorney’s fees, and any other fees the court may deem reasonable.
  3. This Note will be governed by the laws of the State of Florida. In the event of litigation, venue shall be Palm Beach County. This Note is not assignable by the payee and cannot be changed or modifies without the written authorization of both payer and payee.